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Enrollment Management

GRADUATION & DIPLOMAS

     

Students throwing up their graduation caps at a graduation ceremony

The Registrar's Office issues diplomas to students who have completed all degree requirements, based upon approval from individual departments and Academic Dean's Offices.

Graduation

Requirements

Please review the requirements for your program of study. We recommend reviewing your unofficial transcript and comparing your coursework to that which is required. See your adviser with any questions regarding degree completion.

September and December Graduates

  • Students who complete degree requirements in the summer receive degrees dated September 1.
  • Students who complete requirements during the Fall Semester receive degrees dated December 31.
  • The appropriate Dean's Office notifies the Registrar when degree requirements are completed.
  • As soon as this authorization is received, the degree is posted to the student's academic record and the student may then order a final transcript. At the same time, the Registrar's Office orders a diploma. 
  • If the graduate's account with the Bursar's Office is clear, the diploma is mailed directly to the graduate from the engraver. It can take up to four weeks for a diploma to be prepared and mailed to the graduate.
  • September and December graduates are invited to return for the Commencement ceremony in May.

Holds

It is the student's responsibility to contact the Registrar's Office once holds are lifted in order to receive their diploma.

Honors

Honors levels are designated as:

  •     Cumulative GPA of 3.50 – 3.74 cum laude
  •     Cumulative GPA of 3.75 – 3.89 magna cum laude
  •     Cumulative GPA of 3.90 – 4.00 summa cum laude

The honors designation will appear in the Commencement program. For May candidates, the honors listed will reflect their GPA as of the end of fall term and will be correctly reflected on the transcript as well as the diploma, which will be mailed approximately four to six weeks after the conferment date.

In order to graduate with honors, you must have completed a minimum of 60 undergraduate credits at Villanova University. Grades of “A” through “D-” must be received for these 60 credits.

For recognition of May candidates at the Commencement exercises, the honors designation will be based upon the student’s cumulative grade point average as of the previous fall term.

Please note that this calculation is for Commencement program recognition only, and will not determine official honors. The actual awarding of honors will be based on academic statistics earned at the conclusion of the spring semester, when the degree is conferred.

      

DIPLOMAS

Diplomas are mailed to graduates upon completion of degree requirements. They are mailed to the address provided on the Prospective Graduate Form. If no form was submitted, the diploma is mailed to the student's home address.

Each graduate receives one diploma for each degree earned. Please reference Villanova University's Dual Degree Policy for more information.

Diplomas are mailed First Class USPS to all graduates after the conferral date of degree or commencement ceremony.

We mail diplomas in sturdy blue cardboard tubes.

A diploma will not be released to any student who has not settled all financial obligations.

The diploma size is 16"x12". Frames are available for purchase at the University Bookstore.

  

GRADUATION DATES

Degrees are granted three times during the year:

  • May 31 - at the end of spring semester
  • September 1 - at the end of summer semester
  • December 31 - at the end of fall semester

All coursework must be completed prior to the degree date.